


Apples in the Summer are Golden Sweet

by retrinazambrano



Series: Apples [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2020-04-06 14:38:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19064671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrinazambrano/pseuds/retrinazambrano
Summary: A continuation of Heart Throbs and Apple Seeds; Robin and Regina meet again.





	Apples in the Summer are Golden Sweet

**Author's Note:**

> For Brittany (sbstevenson2).

The lady from the store was right. The apple tree - Marian - had been the perfect way to remember his late wife. Every few months, with daily love and care from both he and Roland, the plant would produce new apples, and Roland would pick a couple to eat but they left a couple to drop of their own accord.

That had been Roland's idea. The first time an apple had dropped without their help, Roland had picked it up and bitten into it, proclaiming that it was the tastiest, sweetest apple he had ever tasted. Robin had reached out to pick the remaining fruit, but Roland had stopped him.

_No papa. Don't pick it. When it drops, it means that momma is saying that they're the tastiest apples!_

Alongside their daily letters to Marian, Roland speaks to the plant as he tends to it, and Robin is just glad he is finding solace in such a simple idea. Robin himself almost believes Marian herself is the tree.

He really needs to find that girl and thank her.

\------

As luck would have it - and luck isn't often on his side - he sees that face again one summer day when he's out shopping. He's passing by a grocery store and just happens to look up - she's in there, poring over, funnily enough, apples. He takes a breath and heads in.

"I suggest this particular one, milady. They're very tasty."

Said lady jumps and turns, her astonished face softening into a smile once she realises just who she is talking to.

"Hey! Fancy seeing you here. Robin, isn't it?"

He nods, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Likewise, Regina. This your local store too?"

"Yeah. Yours?"

"Sort of," he explains. "This place has a better selection of fresh fruit than mine does."

"Ah, yes, this is a great place. It's all organic, sourced locally so everyone wins, you know?"

Robin hums in agreement. "I… actually, I'm glad I ran into you."

That astonished face makes a brief reappearance. "And why is that?"

"Well..." and it's then he becomes acutely aware of the bystanders around them. "Well, could I take you for a coffee? I'll explain."

It's not like Regina to just drop everything and go for a drink with a random stranger, but he's not really a stranger, and she could do with a chat. "Sure, why not?"

\------

Chai latte warming her hands, Robin takes his seat opposite her. "Thanks for this," she says, holding up the cardboard mug. She'd offered payment but he was insistent she let him pay.

"Not at all. I rather think you've earned it."

A single raised brow. "How?"

He tells her about Marian - occasionally known as Apple Marian - and how it has really helped Roland (and himself) to deal with their loss, including the dropped apple tales.

"Dropped apple, huh? Sounds like a great name for a store," she smiles, taking a sip of her latte and flicking a tuft of hair behind her shoulder.

"I came by to thank you in person for the suggestion, but your boss told me you'd left a few weeks before." He couldn't quite articulate the disappointment he'd felt in discovering she'd gone, especially as he'd been summoning up the courage for so long, but he's sure it was written all over his face.

The brunette nods. "Yeah. I'd been waiting on hearing back from colleges and I got accepted," and she is clearly ecstatic, the pride clear in her expression, "so I left to do that. Sure, I'm probably the only thirty-something-year-old in the class, but it's nice to feel like I may have some semblance of maturity this time around," she laughs.

"Congratulations Regina. I'm so pleased for you." He reaches over and gives her hand a gentle squeeze, one she doesn't even flinch at. "What are you studying?"

"Plant biology, funnily enough," she admits, pushing her hair back behind her ears. "Makes sense when you think about it."

Robin can't help but agree. "First year, huh? How are you finding it?"

"Well, we're only halfway through the first semester but so far, so good." She goes quiet for a moment. "I was at college before, studying law - not that I wanted to, may I add - just something my mother expected of me." Regina shudders at the thought of Cora, the senior judge of all damn areas of her life, "and when Daniel died, I dropped out. I was halfway through. Not only was I grieving, but I was doing something I hated. So I quit, told my mother that if she didn't like it, I didn't care if she cut me off, she wouldn't have a daughter and I've been doing everything more or less myself ever since." Her eyes widen. "Oh lord, that got deep there, didn't it? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to unleash that all on you."

He shakes his head, reaching for her hand again. "Not at all. Makes a lot of sense. Sorry that your mother's such a bitch though."

Regina smirks slightly before clearing her throat. "Well, bitch she may be, but she's still my mother. Our relationship is strained at best, but it's better than nothing. I guess I just do better by myself." A wistful smile and Robin's heart flip-flops.

In an attempt to cheer her up a little, Robin asks whether she's planning on doing any experiments on apples. She laughs at that, a genuine thing, asking, "do you mean do I think I'm gonna try and clone them? No! I'm not really into genetically modifying nature either, before you ask."

Their conversation is easy, thankfully, and they both lose track of time, Regina only noticing they've been sitting there deep in conversation for the best part of an hour when she glances at her watch. "I've got class in half an hour," she tells him, whereas he's got Roland to collect. "Hey, how about…" she rummages around in her bag for a spare scrap of paper and a pen, scrawling her number on it, sliding it over. "How about you keep me up-to-date with Marian? Send me pictures, recipes… you know." She bites her lip. "Not usual for me to just give my number out to _anyone_."

"Okay, Regina Mills," he reads from the sheet. "I will keep you fully updated. Thank you for this."

She stands. "No, thank you for thanking me. When I did this originally and my mother found out, she thought it was ridiculous. She actually mocked me for it. But this? This means the world to me, that it helped you, too. So, thank you. And I'm sure I'll speak to you soon." With a grateful smile, Regina leaves the cafe, lighter, positive that something good is going to come this summer.


End file.
